One of the most, controversial, contradictory and mysterious phrases that ever left the mouth of Our Lord Jesus, was recorded in
Matthew 20:16
“So the last will be first, and the first last. †For many are called, but few chosen.”and again in
Matthew 22:14
13“Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, btake him away, and cast him †into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14†“For many are called, but few are chosen.”..."For Many are Called but Few are Chosen". I say controversial or contradictory because, this message seems to contradict modern day sermons of today. Come on, You've heard it...feel good messages such as "God loves You no matter what", or How about "Once saved always saved", and of course the latest buzz phrase in Christianity "He gets Us".
"For many are called...but few are chosen" obviously is not feel good.
This phrase, on face value alone has a sense of tragedy. It seems to imply that those who were called Had a chance to make a decision, but tragically chose not to.
This phrase also has this sense of urgency. A phrase so strong, that Anyone, who is led by the Lord, will want to find out at the very least "what happens if I'm not chosen?"
As we have proposed many times in this Ministry...there are levels of Faith. This faith is not grown overnight, it is a process of growth. Just like a field bearing both,
wheat and tares, You cannot tell a person apart from each other when they are new in faith.
In the Christian Faith, Our chronological maturity is not important as is our spiritual maturity. A young adult can be 19 but is mature in Faith, while His own father, a self professed Christian for over 20 years,
can be 45 years old and still be a "baby" Christian. This one of the mysteries of Faith.
At the superficial and physical level, We can tell people we are Christians. We can show outward
displays of profession such as saying "God bless You", giving tithes in Church as they pass the basket, or being seen helping out in the Church fund raisers. However, try as we might,
it has nothing to do with maturity of Faith. Faith is, unfortunately for us, is invisible and not easily discernible. Of course, I do have a theory, that It takes one to know one. What
I mean is, If You are at the "Elect" level of Faith, It will be also within that persons discernment to recognize His or Her own kind. This is because the exhibited characteristics of one
who walks in the Highest levels of the Faith is so specific and exact that it is easy to recognize. The way they talk, the way they eat, the way they dress will give credence to the definition "that kind".
This is the type of growth at the highest levels of Faith that the Lord and His Angels will be looking for...and the rest are...well...I'll let Jesus say it!
Matthew 13:38-42
38†“The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are †the sons of the wicked one.
39“The enemy who sowed them is the devil, †the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 40“Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41“The Son of Man will send out His angels, †and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42†“and will cast them into the furnace of fire. †There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
One of the hardest truths You will ever find as You progress in Faith, is how lonely it gets.
In the parable of the wheat and the tares,
When You have grown and matured as wheat in the faith, You begin to understand that the choices and commitment You have made has separated Yourself from the rest of
the world. Family and friends who consider themselves to be Christian will look at You with thoughts in their minds such as... "what happened to Her?", "My priest would not agree with The
way He has changed", "I wonder if She has joined a cult?".
The biggest irony of "few are chosen" from the perspective of the Christian Faith is, If You are NOT chosen, its because You have eliminated Yourself from being a candidate in
the first place. We have free will and therefore it is likely the reason for the "gnashing of teeth" reference that Jesus makes for those who do not qualify for the Kingdom. Because, of
enternal self-regret knowing that they themselves created the bed that they now lay in.
Time is short...Get Saved!
It all starts with this one Word